Conversations at CIF 2025: Change Management with FlexManager CEO George Curley

This week, George and Peter attended the  Construction Industry Federation (CIF) annual conference in Croke Park to connect with industry leaders and gain insight into the future of construction in Ireland. This historic venue gave the perfect backdrop for a conversation between the two on change management in organisations. 

Here are some insights from our two Flex-perts:

Change in an organisation

There is a significant shift in mindset with respect to bringing in stakeholders early when enacting change in an organisation. George notes:

“Bringing people in early to the conversation has a key impact on the result of the change because they are part of the process… they have a chance to influence the change from the very beginning.”

Importance of doing the change for the correct reason

Peter shares that for some shifts/changes, not doing the change for the correct reasons can hamper an organisation. When asked what would be some of the common pitfalls, George echoes the importance of having a vision of where you want the change to progress to.

“Are we changing for change sake, or to achieve a particular goal?…Understanding why we are changing and what we have to put in, that is the key element.”

Ensure that stakeholders get what they want out of the process

Organisational change is cumbersome for stakeholders. Time, resources, and methodical thinking is needed for it to be a success, with a clear roadmap needed. Stakeholder motivation during this process is driven by getting something out of this process. George elaborates:

“Knowing that before you start will change the outcome because you are changing the inputs required on Day One.”

Stakeholder awareness is great, but directed leadership is crucial

George and Peter preface that although having stakeholders involved and informed is beneficial for a successful implementation of change, you do not want to have a project going in 10 different directions. Having clear direction through leadership teams is critical; George elaborates on this:

“Having the leadership that say ‘We have 5 problems, we can address 3 now, if we try to address the 5, we will go nowhere…we will build the other 2 into phase 2 or 3… having that executive oversight is just as important as bringing stakeholders in”

George's closing remarks

“When you solve one problem, you give yourself breathing space to take on the next problem… it makes the whole process easier if you can go, there is my win, and I am getting 5% of my time back to design the next phase.”

Want to learn more about tackling change management?

The topic of change management is one that is critical for organisations that wish to undergo a digital transformation. George and Peter have recently published a White Paper discussing this topic, and George will be speaking on this and more in his upcoming talk at NISO 2025 on October 10th.

Visit the CIF website to find out more about the construction industry in Ireland, and the events and initiatives that they are bringing towards the end of 2025, going into 2026.

Authored by Gearoid Noone

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